Combining fishing and art

Ms Holden said a four-and-a-half metre Barra sculpture she created three years ago for a national fishing competition held a special place in her heart.

"He was in my head for several months before I actually started building him … I had to think about how I was going to go about building the framework, staying true to my ethical sourcing of materials," she said.

"I wanted to use recycled materials, so his framework is mainly crab pot frames.

"The actual construction of the rest of him probably took me a couple of weeks, but it was hundreds and hundreds of hours that have gone into the gathering and the building."

Organisers commissioned Ms Holden to make trophies for the senior, junior and female angler prizes at the event.

"I've made to scale fish of various types that people can relate to that are local fish, that are caught for this competition and they are made as a trophy and given to those anglers as their trophy prize," she said.

"So instead of just getting the bought trophy, they get a handmade piece of artwork."

Mr Flaherty said the crew also offered Ms Holden debris found in the ocean.

"We actually take a lot of rubbish out of the ocean, we're constantly picking stuff up off our sorting trays … and some of that stuff she's even had a look at and used," he said.

"I have seen some of [Christine's art] it's quite good, we've also got a couple of little bits and pieces she made for me on the vessel.

"It's very nice, it's good that [the rubbish and nets are] used."

Getting the message out about single-use plastics

Ms Holden said she hoped her artwork made people stop and think about their use of single-use plastics.

"[My art is about] helping to just create conversations with people about rubbish because when you can see it like this is an art form, it draws people in and they want to know more about it," Ms Holden said.

"There are still people out there that just don't realise the amount of plastics in particular that are in our oceans and waterways and just on the sides of the road as well.

"It's those single-use plastics that I think we really need to focus on reducing and getting rid of as much as possible and that will make a huge difference — that's something that we can all do now."

According to the WWF global plastic report Solving Plastic Through Accountability released in March, single-use plastics accounted for about 40 per cent of consumption.

"Nearly half of all plastic products littering the world today were created after 2000," the report said.

"This issue is only decades old, and yet over 75 per cent of all plastic ever produced is already waste.